Slender
by firetrap
Summary: When a simple drawing stirs curiosity in the students of Karakura, they end up facing themselves with an urban legend that had been hidden for hundreds of years. Now, the Slender is ready to pick apart its new victims. Warnings inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Slender**

**Warnings: Slight yaoi, gore, blood, language, teenage parties, mentions and uses of drugs.**

**I**

The crowding began early. Bustling masses of people bumped their way into the decrepit building, that from afar, leaned just like a tower. The clouds were high in the sky, giving way for the sun's warm rays and illuminating the bright, blue October sky. During this season, the chilly airs of Karakura began to creep their way from the north; the icy peaks of the surrounding mountains giving citizens an earthly gift, relieving them from the hot, humid summers.

Unable to find a good parking spot, the already running late teenager parked his car at a shop not too far away from the entrance of the school. It sold ice-cream and such, and therefore the business was closed beginning September, not to open until the springtime.

He unbuckled the seatbelt around himself, launching at the passenger seat to grab his book bag as fast as he could.

So fast that his pencil case fell out from underneath the bag's flap, landing under the seat.

Ichigo noticed, but when his eyes landed on the falling object, the distinct high pitched bell sounded, announcing the minute warning until first period started.

"Shit!" Instead of wasting even more time, the orange-spiked male left it where it was, springing out of his car, closing the door behind him.

His large strides closed the distance between him and the large metal doors of the school. Briefly, he noticed how disheveled his appearance was. With his long, tan arm he pulled open the heavy doors, the creaking sound traveling through the first few halls, and met the cool air-condition air.

He ran a hand through his tousled orange spikes while he ran in the halls, trying to tame them. It was no use and his heavy running footsteps alerted hall roaming teachers that there was a stray student. Like hungry predators, they all swarmed Kurosaki, trying to stop him. As worn out and old the school appeared on the outside, the teacher were still very strict.

"Running late again, Kurosaki?" The first of the identical questions. It was Tosen-sensei. Over the summer, the blind teacher had gotten an operation done on him overseas that allowed him to finally see clearly with his, previously bad, left eye. His dark skin always contrasted the plain white attire he sported.

Ichigo looked over his shoulder. He only had a few seconds remaining until the final bell rang. "No, sir!" Of course that was a blatant lie, but he said it anyway.

The boy kept running; the halls were already emptying out; the final lockers being shut with metallic clangs.

Three…

He spotted the door.

Two…

His pace increased; his legs burned.

One…

Grabbing the handle, Ichigo pushed down on it and then forward at the door, almost falling into the classroom when the bell rang its final sound.

He combed his orange hair discreetly as he entered. Sensei was shuffling papers but even with the glare of his glasses that did not let Ichigo see his eyes, and the way his head was bent forward, he felt like his gaze followed him with the disapproving look.

Ichigo was still threading his fingers through his unkempt hair when he walked past his already seated class mates to take his customary seat, last row closest to the window, third desk. The windows were open, as they always were in Aizen-Sensei's room, and he could feel on the surface of the desk the dew that formed.

The tall, brown haired male at the center of the room rose from his plush, rolling chair, placed the neat, thick stack of papers on the corner of his large black desk, and grabbed a dry-erase marker from inside his drawer. The ink was black, and when the smooth chisel tip of the marker wrote the words on the white board, Ichigo shut his eyes in remorse.

It was test day, and he hadn't remembered to study over the weekend. He could already foresee his failure.

The smooth, deep and patient voice that was Aizen Sensei's cut through the sleepy, yawn enhancing atmosphere that the room provided at such an early hour, announcing the students to take out a writing utensil. With every sentence, like he was satisfied with the misery his class of Advanced Calculus brought to the youths, he invisibly quirked one corner of his mouth. "Alright students, you should have studied over the weekend. I'm sure it was plenty of time to prepare you for this test, which should improve the _exceptional _grades you all have."

"Now, who would like to pass out the tests?" He turned from the board to see the already raised hand of Momo Hinamori. She always was ready to help Aizen Sensei in anything he needed and seemed to be the only one alert enough to ever listen to him, too.

Just as the welcoming smile was flashed her way, the door was slid open revealing a scowling, menacing face with blue eyes.

Aizen-sensei was still smiling. He turned slightly. "Ah, Grimmjow-san, late as usual, I see?"

The other sneered.

"Well, I can understand that students cannot always be on time. Right, Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo looked up from the drawing he had started to sketch on his desk and looked at Sensei. He was still smiling. Then his gaze went to the figure at the doorway whose eyes were piercing him already from afar. His retort to Aizen died in his throat, and instead, the teenager swallowed and nodded.

Grimmjow began his trip to his desk when Aizen stopped him, "As long as you're here, Grimmjow –san, why don't you pass out the tests?"

There was the invisible hidden smile again but Grimmjow's lip curled for a fraction of a second until he submitted to the teacher and agreed.  
As he passed out the stapled papers, Aizen spoke, "This will be a timed test. For those of you who take the entire class time to finish the exams, now would be the time to learn how to pace yourselves."

Sleepy groans.

Content with the irritated sounds of the classroom, he sat himself behind the desk again, picked up a red pen, and started marking a second stack of papers he brought up from a filing cabinet at his feet.

When Grimmjow came to Ichigo's row, the blue-haired individual smirked when another student whispered something to him. It was Shirosaki; the albino teenager sat at the first seat. The loud-spoken white-haired male was known for his lust for fighting and superb ability to start riots. Yet, he was never caught or jailed. There was never enough proof.  
And what boggled Ichigo's mind the most was how he—a careless rebellious person like him—received such higher marks on his tests when all he did was lounge.

Grimmjow continued forward after another array of quick words were exchanged, and Ichigo couldn't keep his eyes on him any longer. He bowed his head forward, tracing over the same line on the arm of the character he drew, and the only way he could see Grimmjow was in his peripheral.  
Bad luck that what he was seeing was from the waist down.

A thick stack of stapled papers was chucked on top of his desk, impeding him from drawing further. The orange-haired male scowled and looked up at his perpetrator.  
As soon as he laid eyes on Grimmjow, however, he regretted it.  
The taller male was grinning at him, in a not so warm manner as Aizen's appeared to be, but more of a mocking, grin that challenged him to do something about it—one that was playful in a sadistic way.

"Time's ticking Kurosaki." Grimmjow jeered, once again sending him a smirk.

Ichigo couldn't keep eye contact with the blue-eyed devil any longer, and very forcefully tore his gaze away from Grimmjow, focusing on his exam.

"Grimmjow-san," called Aizen, "If you would so kindly take a seat and begin your test."

Not acknowledging the brunette, Gimmjow took his seat behind Ichigo. Suddenly, Ichigo realized a possibility: Shirosaki got higher marks because Grimmjow sat behind him. On the contrary, Shiro had a usually quiet dark-haried male in the seat after his.

A timer was put on a stool at the very front and center of the room by Aizen-sensei. It only proved to make the uninterested and uncaring students drowsy, and the stressed ones even more nervous with its echoing ticks.

Shaking the thoughts of the blue-haired male, Ichigo went to grab his pencil from his book bag. He dug through it, rustling the inner contents this way and that. Not until five whole minutes flew by did the orange-haired teen remember that his pencil case had been left behind in his car.

This was proving to be a wonderful day so far.

He groaned to himself, wondering who he could ask for a pencil that was closest. The seat next to him was uninhabited, and that left Uryuu Ishida the only student to his immediate right. Obviously, no other student was to his left. That only left Grimmjow behind him (already Ichigo had crossed him out as a possibility) and the dark haired male—Tensa—in front of him.

Tensa was the same exact age as him, same birthday too. They had been neighbors once upon a time, up until middle school and now. They frequented each other's houses as small kids, both being each other's best friend. When middle school began, Tensa moved away to study in another city due to his father's work. They could no longer see each other or attend the same school.

Years later, he came back, fate placing them in the same school and classes. But they were both different from the energetic and optimistic boys from seven years ago. Now all that they had between them was the postmortem of their friendship; feelings of awkwardness and distant attachment.

Apprehensively, Ichigo whispered to him, "Tensa…" His voice was hesitant and laced with nervousness.

The other was still bent forward over his test and Ichigo felt his heart drop, surprisingly. He did not expect to be ignored. Defeated, the teen debated over asking the male seated behind him or failing the test with a flat zero. His thoughts in that process kept fleeting back to how Tensa had acted oblivious to him. It shouldn't have bothered him much. After all, they weren't friends anymore. The childhood feelings weren't there anymore. And it wasn't like they had spoken much; only when needed.

Just when Ichigo was about to give in to facing the blue-haired teen behind him, Tensa turned ever so slightly. Ichigo could only see his profile, because if he turned any further, Aizen-sensei would be able to tell that there was talking going on during a test. "What?"

"Eto," What had he planned on saying? The ticker was moving rapid as ever, and Ichigo still hadn't stated his purpose for calling him. Tensa's eyes blinked, waiting, until he started turning his attention to his test.

"Can I borrow a pencil?" Ichigo hastily asked before the other turned fully away from him.

A low sigh, and then the movement of Tensa's arm in his black hoodie pocket. Ichigo waited, scraping on the edge of the desk with his finger nail. Then, the dark-haired teen passed him the black wooden pencil.

"Thanks…"

He received a subtle nod.

**II**

The test had ended with the loud ring of the timer going off, waking the sleeping students from their slumber. Ichigo stared down at his test, half of which was blank. To the problems he hadn't answered, Ichigo had simply darkened in the letters and numbers. He was sure to have failed.

"Hinamori," came Aizen's smooth voice. The black haired girl, already having turned her exam in, looked at her Sensei with a dreamy expression. "Would you pick up the tests?"

Then came the flustered expression. She patted down her hair and stood up, brushing the hem of her skirt with the pal of her hand. Aizen smiled at her, and she sent him a nervous one.

Ichigo felt a pat on his shoulder and instantly he knew who it was, the thought of _him_ sending his stomach to the recesses of the Earth. "Kurosaki."

He tried to ignore him, pretending to re-write his name on the corner of the paper.

"I know you can hear me."

Ichigo clenched his fingers around the borrowed pencil then calmly set it down. "What?" He didn't turn around.

"How'd you think you did on that test?"

It was a strange question to ask of him. Grimmjow never interrogated him on the matter, so why would he today?

"I probably failed." He answered dully, extracting a snicker from the other. The orange-haired teen faced him properly now, sending him a heated glare.

He was still laughing however.

Hinamori came to their seats and picked up the tests. She left and her knee-length skirt swayed behind her.

It was almost time for the class to end. Aizen had timed it exactly so that there would be just enough minutes to pick up the test.

"You're going to lunch or are you gonna skip?" A curious tone of voice.

"Why do you care?"

"I'm just asking." Grimmjow grinned at him making Ichigo avoid eye-contact and look down at the other's desk. He had been doodling on the surface too. It was a strange drawing however; the character drawn was very tall and very slender and was wearing a tuxedo. His arms stretched low and long, and the thing that stood out most because it was missing was his face. He had no face.

Ichigo peeked up at Grimmjow and quirked an eyebrow, "Nice drawing."

Grimmjow looked down at it, "Thanks, but I didn't draw it."

"Then why do you still have it on the desk?" Ichigo questioned. If it had been him, he would have erased such a creepy and bizarre illustration.

"It's in pen."

"Oh."

"I looked him up, though—"

"Him?" Interrupted Ichigo. Once again, he laid eyes on the drawing. It did resemble a man more than a woman…

"Yeah. He's called Slenderman and—"

The bell rang and the students scrambled to the door. Others delayed to pick up their things and group together in their circle of friends.

Ichigo slung his book bag over one shoulder as he stood and stretched his aching body. He scratched his nose, returning his gaze to Grimmjow, waiting for him to finish his story.

"Yo, Grimmjow. We're gonna be late." There was no mistaking the two-tone voice of Shirosaki calling to his friend.

He had cut off Grimmjow just as he was about to start speaking again. "I'll finish telling you later." The blue-haired teen stood up and grabbed his backpack. "Since when do you care?" He barked, rounding Ichigo and the desks, heading Shirosaki's way.

When meeting Shirosaki at the doorway, the pale male snickered in that way of his where he stuck the tip of his tongue between his teeth. He motioned to Ichigo with a nod of his head and grinned at Grimmjow.

Grimmjow turned back to see who he was motioning to then muttered something to him under his breath and shoved him out the door. Ichigo could hear the watery laughter from the halls.

He was about to turn to head for his class when he noticed Tensa still packing his things. Most were books, not text-books though. He was fairly quiet, Ichigo had noticed, and kept mostly to himself. It was one of the reasons he had never quite built up the courage to speak to him again. He wished he had.

The orangette approached him carefully and held out the black pencil. "Here's your pencil."

The other was still stuffing the multiple books into his backpack.

The room was now empty except for them two; Aizen-sensei had stepped out to keep watch on the halls.

It was quiet and it was just the two of them alone in the room.

The teenager, albeit a few inches shorter than Ichigo, zipped up his backpack and hoisted it over his shoulder. The pale blue eyes met Ichigo's. "Keep it."

He then hid away his pale hands into the pockets of his hoodie and walked out the door.

**III**

Lunch time had come soon and sure enough, Ichigo kept watching his back and around every corner. He did _not _want to encounter Grimmjow in the halls or anywhere else. Mostly it was because—

"Ichigo!" A pair of enormous breasts greeted him when opening the door that led to the roof.

Funny, he didn't know boobs could talk.

And then he noticed the strawberry blonde attached to them. "Oh, Ichigo. Are you going to lunch?" She asked pouting her lips. "I didn't bring mine today, can I have some of yours? Hm?" Her eyelashes batted in a coquettish manner and she bent over just enough so that it gave Ichigo a broad view of her cleavage.  
The male brushed her off and walked past her. "Just share with Orihime like you always do."  
He heard her light footsteps following behind. "But—She's sharing with someone else today!" It was almost a wail the way her voice projected the statement.

"Orihime? With who?" The teenager arched an orange eyebrow and pushed the roof door with the palm of his hand. With the sunlight illuminating the open space above the school, Ichigo could see clear as the blue sky who exactly Orihime was sharing her lunch with.

Standing smugly, reclined on the wire fence was the bane of his existence …ever since first period.

He had a hand stuffed in his pocket and was grasping an odd looking anpan in the shape of a smiley face, but with the cooking skills Orihime had, the smile was lopsided and looked like it melted off, and somehow the bread was burnt only on one side. It looked impossible to ever accomplish the disaster she pulled off. He took a bite of it and Ichigo caught glimpse of the too long canine that was more animal like than human. How could he eat it; her cooking? Ichigo himself had tried it once and only once and was sure he'd never try it again. But there he was, Grimmjow, eating the bean filled bread like it was the most delicious thing on Earth.

"Hello~! Ichigo!" A hand was fanned in front of him breaking him out of his daze. "Yoo-hoo~."  
He had been staring…  
Rangiku had been the one to interrupt him and the strawberry blonde was now eyeing him with interest. Lord, he hoped the girl hadn't noticed just _who _he had been gawking at.  
She raised an eyebrow and turned back and forth between the cerulean haired classmate and Ichigo. He was looking in this direction now, too.  
Shit.

Ichigo could feel the red rushing to his face. If he was to save himself embarrassment from the loud mouthed girl that stuck her nose in business that wasn't hers, Ichigo had to do something fast.

Using his arm, he fished his phone out of his pocket and pretended to answer a text. Knowing Rangiku, she wasn't the type of gal to let things slide until she got to the bottom of the source of her curiosity. Seeing the gleam in that pale blue eye of hers, she spotted something in Ichigo which caught her interest. He had an idea of what it had been, but for now, Ichigo set his mind in averting all her future inquiries until they were alone. He didn't want the close people around him to know _that_ about him yet.

He mashed the buttons on his cell phone and avoided anyone's view. In the end, all Ichigo ended up typing was a memo to himself to pick up orange juice from the store. Still, he didn't set the phone down and kept it grasped in his hand tight enough to make his hand sweat.

"Kurosaki-kun!" He cringed.

No, no, no, no, no. Don't.

"Kurosaki-kun! Aren't you going to eat lunch?" It was Orihime. Her politeness proved to be very inconvenient for Ichigo. He didn't want to ignore her, but he didn't want to acknowledge _his _presence either. Knowing Inoue, if he looked up, she would insist in offering him food to eat even if it meant she had to give up hers. "Kurosaki…kun?"  
The disappointment in her voice was what got to him. He was forced to turn around. "Oh, Inoue." He put on his best acting façade, one that looked like he hadn't hear her the first time, and slipped the sleek grey cell phone in his back pocket.

The bubbly demeanor that was purely Inoue's shaped on her face again. "Are you going to eat lunch? I have some extra if you didn't bring one today…" She trailed off when she noticed he wasn't holding his today.  
"Eh?! What about me, precious Hime-chan! I want some of your delicious cooking!" Chizuru, obviously. Before the red-haired hormonal for Inoue girl could squeeze what wasn't hers, Tatsuki stepped in and kicked her to the other side of the roof.  
"Keep your hands to yourself." She muttered angrily.  
As if nothing had happened, the odd conversation continued on. "Oi, Ichigo. Come sit with us. Stop moping around like an emo." She commanded, sitting cross-legged across Inoue.

"No, I'm fine—"  
The way her eyes glared at him made Ichigo comply in her request. In a matter of seconds, he was also sitting in the circle, which consisted of Rangiku, next to her Ichigo, followed by Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro, and Inoue across from Ichigo. To his despair, Grimmjow was still reclined on the wire fence. He was overlooking the group, and, Ichigo could feel, his blue eyes staring at him the most.

"So, why is the scary looking dude here today?" Keigo whispered to Mizuiro but was ignored completely by the raven haired male. Instead, he pretended not to hear him, took a chip from his potato chip bag and texted with his free hand leaving Keigo to mope to himself.

"No seriously, why _are_ you here?" Tatsuki directed the question to him this time. She bit a portion of her hearty carbohydrate filled lunch. The girl worked out more times than the average female her age, therefore needing as much caloric intake than most. "Don't you usually hang out with the misfits down under the bleachers?" A crumb fell on her chin and then it was blown away with the wind.

The clouds were starting to merge together, making the sky turn a very light shade of grey.

The corner of the blue-haired bastard's mouth curved upwards and Ichigo felt—knew those eyes were on him again. He chanced a peek and sure enough, they were boring right at him. No one else seemed to notice the brief eye exchange between the two.

"Me?" He brushed the side of his hair with the palm of his hand. "I only came up here to finish what I started with Kurosaki over there."

Instantly, Ichigo felt the multiple pairs of eyes shift to him in disbelief. He was sure the color of his face drained ten times over only to be replaced with, what he was sure, was a shade of red that only Chizuru's hair could match.

That bastard!  
The red from embarrassment was quickly overcome by red anger.

The way he worded it! It's like-!

The orange haired teenager stood. "W-wha-?" He gasped. Had he meant it to sound that way? Was he implying something!?

"Yeah, came here to finish that story, right, Ichigo?" The hand in his pocket twitched and that's when Ichigo noticed something was off about Grimmjow's usual arrogant character. He was more calm right now, and the smirk lazier than usual. The lids of his eyes drooped when he blinked.

"Right…" Ichigo agreed, narrowing his eyes at the other. "Let's go talk somewhere else."

Grimmjow's eyes couldn't become more glazed with excitement.

"What story? I want to hear the story!" Pouted Keigo. "I'm always out of the loop." He crossed his arms in a petulant manner, sticking his bottom lip out.

"It's because no one likes you." Mizuiro chimed in. The comment was taken poorly, as always, by the over-sensitive Keigo, sending him to cry off into a far off corner.

"Oooh! I want to hear too!" With that said by Rangiku, it extracted similar curiosity from the group. Now everyone was engrossed in hearing the tale.

Grimmjow was staring at everyone, amused by their reactions. His hand twitched again and it looked to Ichigo that he reached for something in his back pocket only to think better on it.

"I guess we'll have our alone time some other day, eh, Kurosaki?" He grinned moving closer to the cluster.

"Yeah," answered Ichigo.

"The fuck ya doin' up here, today?"

Grimmjow's gaze lingered on Ichigo for a second longer until her registered Shirosaki's voice. He turned to him and smiled mischievously. "Nothin'."

"Everyone's waitin' down under. What's got ya so –" The black on gold eyes landed on Ichigo then back to Grimmjow. The albino rubbed the bridge of his nose, "…Right."

With the distraction that was Grimmjow, Ichigo hadn't noticed the shadow clinging to Shirosaki until he moved to the side.

Tensa.

He didn't know he hung out with them…

"I was just about to tell them 'bout the thing we looked into the other day."

"What, Slenderman?" The pale man snorted. "What's ta tell?"

"Everythin'."

"Ya don' actually b'lieve it, right?"

Grimmjow shrugged. "It's interestin'."

Shiro looked closely at Grimmjow and finally said in between a chuckle, "How much ya smoke?"

Grimmjow only grinned back.

Nobody except Rangiku could have spoken at such an awkward moment. "Eto…the story?"

Their attention was pulled back to the group. "Oh yeah." Grimmjow rubbed his face and combed part of his blue hair with his hand. He proceeded to sit down next to Mizuiro. Shirosaki followed next to Grimmjow and Tensa kept his distance in hearing range.

Ichigo sat down, too and occasionally looked to the side, pretending to stare at the clouds when he was really sneaking glances at Tensa. He didn't look different.

Grimmjow began, "So, there's this urban legend…"

**IV**

"Whaaaaat?" Keigo wailed.

"You expect us to believe such tall tales?" Somewhere along the course of the story, Uryuu had migrated into the group along with a few other students.

"Don' care if you believe it or not, prick. The shit's real." The blue haired male sneered.

Ishida pushed his glasses up his nose, "Foolish."

"So, this Slenderman appears in the forests and foggy areas?" asked the curvaceous Matsumoto. "Hmm…" she put her finger on her chin and trailed off.

The roof's population was crowded around them and all seemed to hold their breath to hear what could be said next.

The birds chirped somewhere.

The sky had turned a dark, looming grey.

"He doesn't appear anywhere. He's not real—"

"I know!" Rangiku exclaimed, breaking the silence and completely disregarding Uryuu's words. Heads that weren't turned in her direction, turned that way. She was excited to be the center of attention.

"We should host the Halloween party by that old abandoned construction area! It's thick with trees behind it and the location would make the perfect atmosphere for the party since now we've all heard the story!"

Confused murmers.

"Huh? You don't like it?" She asked, a little down that the idea wasn't taken very highly.

"But hasn't the tradition been to always have it at the Rukongai?" Asked a student from the other side of the crowd.

"Oh, pooey. We always have it there. It's time for a change!" she argued.

"I don't know." A murmer.

"It's tradition."

"But Matsumoto-chan has a point."

"I think it's a good idea."

"Yeah, me too!"

"I'm with her."

"Alright, then! It's settled! Everyone show up with your best costumes that night. I'll make sure to send out the invites to everybody by tomorrow!" She celebrated.

In the background, Tensa pulled his black hood over his head.

"Where ya goin'?" called Shirosaki after him after the shorter male began to walk away.

Only Ichigo paid attention to the small exchange, the rest of the student body being busy with making plans about Halloween night. Even Tatsuki, Inoue, and Uryuu; the people he least expected to be interested.

Tensa stopped. "You know I hate the rain."

Sure enough, after he said that, thick droplets of water began to fall on the concrete roof. The students all cried in disappointment. They began to clean up and head to the door still clinging in groups talking about the upcoming night.

The bell that signified the end of lunch rang.

"Remember to tell everybody!" called Rangiku after them, herself walking to the next class.

Orihime and Tatsuki left. Uryuu had long disappeared. Shirosaki was walking away with Grimmjow who didn't look back.

The rain began to pour slightly harder and the top layer of Ichigo's clothes was starting to soak through. He decided to walk to class now.

**V**

Thick, invisible globs of water stuck to the window of his second story classroom. It was almost the end of the school day and the rain had not let up since lunch. Ichigo stared blankly at the dark clouds the seemingly came out of nowhere. The forecast had only predicted a thirty percent today.

Ukitake-sensei was at the board, trying to explain the importance of macromolecules but was currently trying not to hack a lung into his tissue. He was sick. Everyone knew he had lung problems since the first day of school when he had explained it. Hence the reason he was most of the time absent and out getting treatment. He had said that it wasn't very serious but Kiyone and Sentaro always fussed over him and his health when the slightest symptom appeared.

It seemed to Ichigo that every one of his teachers had an obsequious student handy. He looked around.  
The rest of the student body wasn't paying attention to Ukitake-sensei who was being fought over by Kiyone and Sentaro. Both wanted to soothe his sickness by rubbing circles on his back.

And both were making the cough worse with the way they were banging on the poor man's shoulders.

Ichigo kept zoning out; coming in and out of consciousness. His thoughts kept fleeting to the lunch encounter earlier.

Unknowingly, the male began biting on his thumbnail.

He had always suspected that Grimmjow smoked and Shirosaki never even bothered to hide it. But Tensa?

He wasn't the type.

More importantly, why did it bother him so much? They weren't friends. More like acquaintances.

His brows furrowed together and the lights flickered briefly. It was really pouring outside now and the lightning was bright when it flashed. The roads were deserted.

Ukitake-sensei gaped a breath of air and cleared his throat, rubbing his neck. Kiyone and Sentaro were sent to their seats. "Ah, excuse me for that inconvenience…It's almost time for the final bell, so I guess I'll make this quick."

From the drawer of his desk, he pulled out a stack of papers.

The students groaned and he chuckled. "It's only a light assignment. It shouldn't take long."

He began to pass out the papers to two of his student's dismay. They had wanted to do the task for him.

The orangette sighed and listened to the sound of thunder and rain. It was very calming but made him restless to get out.

"So are you going?" Ichigo heard a female voice say.

There was a pause and a squeak of chairs. "Uh, I think so. I don't have a costume though."

"I can let you borrow one!" It was a third voice joining the conversation.

"R-really?"

"Yeah! We can go as the three musketeers!" An uproar of giggles and agreements.

"Besides…_He_'s going!"

"He? Who?"

"Who else! Shirosaki-san!"

A dreamy array of sighs that made Ichigo chuckle and stop listening to the conversation.

Ukitake laid the paper on everyone's desk and returned to his seat.

That's what he heard throughout the rest of the ten minutes of the period. If it wasn't girls giggling it was guys talking about who they wanted to see. It was expected that Matsumoto had the most admirers.

Ichigo stared down at the paper that had been laid out before him. He blinked and read the instructions. It sounded simple enough to do in one night. He pulled out his binder and stuffed the sheet neatly inside. Just as he did so, the final bell rang and the students rushed out. Ukitake said his customary good-bye and all the teens walked out including him.

He didn't see anyone else he knew in the halls and didn't bother to stop. After all, his car was across the parking lot and he had to get to it quick before the streets were overflowing with angry teenage drivers.

**VI**

All three were under the small bridge not too far from the school. This is where they always skipped class. Tensa, Grimmjow, and Shiro had been under here since lunch.

"Don' look so grumpy. You're makin' me depress'. Here." A pale arm extended to its right and held out a small white paper tube. It was lit and the smoke was almost invisible.

Tensa was still wearing his hood. He shook his head. "I've had enough for today." His voice was sluggish and lazy.

"Tch," with his joint declined, Shirosaki put it to his lips and took a deep inhale, held it, and blew out. It was quiet save for the sizzling sound of the rain hitting the ground.

"So, why ya wear that hood only when it rains?" He took another deep inhale.

"My hair gets frizzy."

The laughter could not have gone on longer. Even Tensa, under the effects, was prone to the fit of cackles.

The water that ran under the bridge had risen.

"Oh man," Grimmjow held his face. He was afraid it would melt off with laughter.

Shirosaki punched Tensa in the arm, gasping for air. "So, are ya goin'?"

"Where exactly?" Tensa countered.

"To Matsumoto's thing."

Some more breathy laughter.

Tensa paused but did not join in and Grimmjow and Shirosaki did not seem to notice.

"No." He answered.

"Aww. Why not?" He genuinely sounded disappointed.

They were down to their last roach now with the greedy sharing between him and Grimmjow.

The raven haired male shrugged and stood up.

The rain was beginning to let up. It wasn't enough for the sun to shine through but the wind and water was calming down.

He held himself steady by placing his weight on the walls.

"C'mon. Let's go. There'll be chicks galore there!" The albino cackled. He pressed the lit side of the roach on his black thumbnail until it was out and cold. With a flick of his finger, he threw it in the air and caught in his mouth and swallowed.

"I don't care. My dad's probably waiting at school now." He pulled his hood down revealing his young face.

"Keh, fine." Shirosaki shuffled and stumbled to get up. Grimmjow followed. "Well, f'ya wann go. Jus' text us or somethin'."

The other said nothing and held out his hand.

The albino grinned. He pulled out something from his own pocket and placed it in Tensa's outstretched one.

With his small plastic bag, Tensa stepped out from under the dark cold shadows of the bridge and walked up the steep edges of the ground that led to a higher level.

Shirosaki and Grimmjow both watched him go.

"So you goin'?" asked the pale teen.

"Yeah." Answered Grimmjow making Shiro grin.

"Hmm, interestin'."

"Shut the fuck up Shirosaki."

* * *

The gory/scary/suspense begins…next chapter. e-e

Stick around for the final conclusion. What will happen? ;A;  
And, yeah. I've been busy but this was fun enough to upload for a Halloween thing. And! I had a Slenderman nightmare that served as a good instigator for this fic, xD

Hopefully the final chapter will be ready by then. So, review?


	2. Chapter 2

**Haha, Halloween I said huh? ^^u**

**VI**

The dreadful day came. Ichigo was standing in front of a mirror, patting his shirt down and smoothing the front pockets of his pants. He bore no costume; he'd be damned if the blonde bombshell of his friend forced him into too tight pants and scratchy collared shirts. In their place, Ichigo instead suited grey jeans that accentuated his lissome body and a red t-shirt which hung past his belt loops.

Staring at his dim reflection in the mirror, the boy then looked to his window where the sun was setting off in the distance. He checked the time, first glancing at the blood red letters on the clock and then pulling out the square apparatus from his pocket. It glared back at him flashing the time.

It was almost time.

All other times he had skipped out on doing things like these, but now, in his senior year, the blonde gossip begged—forced him to go.

He had been on the phone...He regretted ever taking her call.

_Blindly, a long heavy arm extended from underneath the pulled over covers. His phone was vibrating on his nightstand beside him and the thing had a bad habit of crawling and tipping over the edge if let on too long. Even with the drowsy heaviness over his eyelids, Ichigo tossed the covers from his head and glared into the darkness searching for the damned thing. He slammed his hand down and violently tapped the accept call button without looking at the ID._

"_Hello," he answered not too calmly, but with a hint of frustration. _

_The voice on the other line answered, "Oh! Ichigo were you asleep? You sound sleepy."_

_His eye twitched as he checked the red numbers floating in the darkness: Two sixteen._

"_Well anyways, as long as you're awake…" The cheery voice continued._

_He had no rational thoughts to calm down the rage that was building inside him. What he wanted to do was teleport right in front of the one who disrupted his slumber, jammies and all, take the phone attached to their ear and shove it down their throat._

_However…_

"_What is it _Rangiku?"_ He spat out through clenched teeth. _

_It was like the woman had not even heard him speak. "…well I'm at this store where they sell the most fabulous costumes and…"_

"_And what? What? What about that."_

"…_looking through them..."_

_Ichigo clenched his fist and placed it on his temple. This woman. Who shops at two in the morning for Halloween costumes?!_

"…_asked the manager for specials and details and he said he would give me a discount if I bought two or more since it is almost Halloween! And that's where you come in, Ichi-berry!"_

_Calmly he pulled the phone away from his ear. Calmly he set the speaker down to muffle it with his sheets. He faced his wall and screamed and agitated scream into his pillow. Why must she do these things? WHY. Was she so oblivious to the effects she made on people or was it simply for the fun? She was a good, good person; Ichigo kept telling himself but interrupting his dreams, his only escape from the stress of school-that was too far._

_Calmly, he picked up his cell phone and attached it to his ear. _

_She was still talking._

"…_picked out a nice cat one for myself and I've been looking in the men's section. Ichigo, you would definitely look good in…"_

"_NO. No I would not." He said, maybe a little too loud. Finally, he sleep induced brain pieced together the woman's diabolical plan making him cringe in fear of what she could do if she got a hold of him before Ichigo could refuse to do it. "I'm not going to the party Rangiku." He sighed rubbing his eyes. He was falling asleep again. _

_There was silence on the phone making the teen somewhat relieved that the curvaceous woman hung up only to face her wrath another day yet having time to sleep now._

_He started to pull the phone away from his ear eager to place it into his soft, feather stuffed pillow when a dark voice called out. "Yes. You are."_

_Oh god._

"_Um…no—"_

"_YES. You are!" _

_With her yell, it left his ear ringing and made him wonder what the customers at the store were thinking about a woman screaming into her phone. _

_But then again, it was two in the morning and he could only imagine the weirdoes running and shopping at the place. Not to mention women were always screaming._

_He sighed, not really wanting to argue with her over the phone, especially since he knew she would always win even if he had the most reasonable argument. And if he hung up the phone on her now, she would most likely show up at his door step and if not at his doorstep, climb his window, barge in and scare him into going. _

_Even though she was scary enough at the moment, even though he couldn't see her, he could only imagine her icy blue eyes._

"_You know I never went to those things and I do—"_

"_Ichigooooo!" She pouted, "It's your senior year. Stop being such a party pooper and enjoy your final year!"_

"_No thanks, I've already had my share of enjoyment."_

"_ENJOY IT."_

_Again he was forced to pull the phone away from his ear. "I really don't want to." He made a face in the darkness._

"_C'mon! All the hotties will be there…" She paused. "…And I heard Grimmjow was going…"_

_He almost choked on his yawn but quickly covered his mouth, pulled the cell phone away and stared at the time of the call. He hoped she hadn't heard his choke up._

"_Why should I care?" He tried to play it off, heart beating in his chest. He could hear the blood pumping to his ears in the oppressing silence that followed._

_Ichigo could almost hear Matsumoto smirking through the phone. On the other line, she twirled her hair with her finely polished nailed finger. "Oh c'mon Ichigo." She pushed the hangers on the racks and they scraped their metal surfaces together. "I've seen how you look at him."_

_His throat felt dry. "With contempt?" He croaked._

"_If you don't come to the party I'll tell him that a certain Ichi-berry has a crush on him."_

_If he had been drinking something with a straw, the straw would have ended up half-way down his throat with the intense inhale he made._

_He heard her giggle and he knew his futile battle had been won. "Now what kind of costume should I get you?" She asked._

Ichigo stared at the bundled up clothing sitting at the edge of his bed. He stared at it distastefully, took it with a clawed hand and walked out his room without a final look in the mirror.

The boy trotted down the stairs with uneager steps. Rukia was supposed to pick him up and he would tag along with her and Renji.

"MY SON!"

Not wanting to deal with it, he stretched out a fist connecting with a stubby jaw, then walking past the rolling white lump on the floor.

"OW, OW, OW, OW, OW! Son, why would you hit your beloved father?!"

Ichigo didn't bother to turn, poking his head into the freezer and pulling out a frozen yogurt. He tore off the edge of it and threw the tiny piece of plastic into the sink.

"Ichi-nii!" Someone whispered.

He placed the tube of yogurt into his mouth and sucked the beginning contents of the package.

"Ichi-nii!"

Finally he turned around, meeting himself face to face with two white lumps…dancing?

"BWAHH!" He spit out the yogurt in his mouth into the sink. "What the hell? What are you guys doing?!" He demanded, backing as far away as possible from the two.

Both the lumps laughed and pulled the white bed sheets from themselves, revealing that they were Yuzu and Isshin. They were dressed as ghosts and judging from their identical jovial expressions, they had accomplished their goal: scaring Ichigo.

The older male spoke: "Ha! You didn't think you could get away with that, did you son? You disappoint me."

They proudly gave themselves a thumbs up and Ichigo stared at them horrified that they were in cahoots with each other, "You were in it together?!"

His father smirked and Ichigo could swear his tooth shone, "Well of course! Anybody could have been able to tell it was us!"

"You snuck up on me!" Ichigo countered, yogurt splattered and forgotten on the sink.

"HA HA HA. That was the point! And to think I was beginning to think you were my equal!"

"Shut up." Instantly the older male was rolling around on the floor again. Karin, the darker female was revealed from behind him. She, unlike her other more spirited family members, only had a black eye patch across her left eye. "Who wouldn't be scared of you, Goat- face? You're scary even without it being Halloween."

"T-thank you." The man muttered clutching his head.

"I didn't mean it in a nice way." She kicked him, walked past a fussing Yuzu and took some candy out of the bowl set next to the sink which the yogurt had missed. She took a mini Snicker's bar from it, peeled off the wrapper and popped it in her mouth.

"Why aren't you wearing a costume, Ichi-nii?"

Ichigo, just noticing the chocolate, imitated her in taking a candy and chewing on it. He showed her the black attire bundled in his hand and she cocked an eyebrow at him in question. "What is it?"

Ichigo swallowed his chocolate and reached for another. "Rangiku got it for me. It's supposed to be a…"

The doorbell rang and Yuzu immediately perked up. The buffoon he called his father snatched the bowl of candy from Ichigo's reach and hollered while he and Yuzu scrambled to the door.

"You're going to scare the trick-or-treaters like that!" Karin yelled.

Ichigo chuckled under his breath at the sight of his family having such fun on the holiday. During this time of year some years ago, times had not been so cheerful. His face faltered momentarily until he heard the familiar voices at the door.

"Rukia! Renji!" It was Yuzu greeting them.

"Ano, Ichigo?"

"He's in the kitchen. Please come in!" Yuzu invited gestured them into the kitchen where the trio of friends said their hellos.

Rukia, in the name of Halloween had dressed up as an overgrown bunny. It wasn't a slutty costume, like so many other girls had defaced the portrayal of a bunny, but instead, she looked like the Easter bunny; covered from head to toe in a wooly white suit and a pink belly. The neck connected to the head like a hood and on top, the ears stuck out like giant narrow spoons.

Renji, his chosen career path apparent in the costume he chose: an officer. The proud black hat sat on his head, his red hair overlapping his shoulders. His black pressed shirt snug tightly over his chest and the black pants hugged his legs all the way to the…sneakers.

"Oh, you both look so nice with your costumes!" Yuzu complemented, admiring them both.

"Yeah, compared to Goat-face over there." Karin gestured with her thumb to which Isshin looked aghast that his daughter had insulted his choice of dress.

"WHAT? But I thought you liked my costume!" Isshin wailed trying to show affection to his daughter only to have it rejected by her foot.

"Go away, ghost goat."

He gasped dramatically.

Renji and Rukia, used to the oddities of the Kurosaki household turned to Ichigo while the remaining ones in the small kitchen fussed in the background. "So, Ichigo…where's your costume?" Rukia began.

Ichigo did the same as when Karin had asked him.

"You're not going to put it on?" Renji asked.

"I'll put it on over there. I don't think anyone's gonna wear anything anyway." He rationalized.

"Alright, well, let's go." Renji nodded.

"Yeah," agreed Ichigo. He hoped he wouldn't regret succumbing to Rangiku's threats.

**VII**

Ichigo was wrong. People did show up. And they did wear costumes. Even if it was the smallest amount of clothing possible, they wore something that stated the Halloween spirit.

The dark night had fallen over the area and with it bringing little stars. It was a merely a full moon casting its white light, looking like a grand eye in the big sky.

Renji pulled up his tiny black car, unknowing where to park. It was packed. The three didn't even recognize the people. Had they come from other schools?

Rukia, in the front passenger seat, pointed out to Renji an empty space in the makeshift parking lot that had developed on the side of the road. "There Renji!"

He saw it, and Ichigo merely sat back waiting for the vehicle to stop and make its rest.

"Man, these people don't move…" Renji sighed, holding the steering wheel with both hands.

Indeed, the masses of people were standing in the way of cars, chattering in groups. These people, in comparison to the others Ichigo had seen walking in, did not sport a costume. They sure looked intimidating though. They leaned on the hood of their cars with their hands in their pockets looking from side to side. The closer they got, the closer the mix of music got heard. The basses and lyrics mingled together to make a cacophony sounding like a bad remix . Ichigo could hear the jumpy techno, the low bass drops of the dubstep, the slow sad chords of gothic rock, the deep voices of rappers, the distinct violin from a song he remembered being from Blackmill, and the poppy voices of female singers. So many types of music coming from similar people.

Renji honked the horn of his car, but they kept bobbing their heads in tempo to the songs blasting from their cheap stereos.

A tapping on Rukia's window made her jump.

It was Rangiku, waving from the outside and motioning Rukia to lower the window. She did, and the woman poked her head in, bending to the car's level.

Over the music, the catcalls erupted and Ichigo looked around to see what the hell had made them turn around this time and not before.

The first thing that came out of the blonde woman's mouth was not a "Hey!" or "Glad you could make it!" Instead it was a yell, to Ichigo, demanding where his costume was. "Where is your costume!"

Ichigo looked away and waved the black bundle again.

The curvaceous woman stood straight, walked to the back seat door, yanked it open and along yanked Ichigo out. "What—!"

"Ooohh"s and laughter from the dwellers sounded and now outside the car, Ichigo saw _why _they reacted so strongly, the men mostly, when Rangiku bent over. She had on a very tight and very short black dress that ended just above the mid of her thigh. The black dress hugged her curves _very _nicely, especially at the chest area, where her overgrown breasts looked just about ready to burst from the top. Black cat ears were fastened in her hair and a black cat tail swung behind her. On her feet were black leather wedges that made her an inch or two taller so Ichigo had a hard time to get out from under her piercing icy gaze.

She made her way past him to tell something to Renji and Rukia. "You can park over there," she pointed to a hidden lot that they hadn't seen before and closed the back passenger seat with a loud clunk. Grabbing the teen's wrist, rather harshly, to the point of her nails digging into the soft skin, she pulled Ichigo along bulldozing through the crowd.

"Ack, what the heck, Rangiku?" The boy had to be a little embarrassed being dragged away like that by her. He frantically looked around to make sure they weren't the center of attention.

He regretted it. Not only were they the center of amusement, but Ichigo somehow managed to pinpoint the exact location of Grimmjow lazily lounging with his circle of friends at the far side. Shirosaki was cackling away like a hyena and Ichigo could practically hear the guy's mocking laughter over the music. Grimmjow on the other hand, was…his eyes were bluer tonight making Ichigo quickly turn away.

"Where are we going?" He shout asked over the increasing crowd.

She whirled on her heel, "You're going to change…" she snatched the black clothing from Ichigo's arm, "…into the costume I chose out for you." Then, she shoved it in his chest and pointed to the doorway.

"I don't even know where to go!"

"I'll show you." With a rather harsh push, Rangiku shoved Ichigo to his doom.

**VIII**

"I'm not coming out." Ichigo's voice echoed from the tiles on the walls. Not too long ago, Rangiku had thrown him in an isolated part of the warehouse where, very nicely, the previous owners had installed some lavatory rooms. Once upon a time, they were probably clean and functional, but now, the toilet bowl was dry and calcium and rust had accumulated. The sink had white spots and the walls had something black and runny stuck to corners. There was a dirty mirror hung on the wall and with the time and investments that Rangiku had spent on making this place habitable, at least for the night, electricity was running through and the light bulb swinging over head was yellow and working.

For the second time that day, he looked at his reflection. His red shirt was folded neatly under his left arm along with his grey skinnies that proved more of a hassle to take them off than on. He sighed and ran a hand through his unruly orange locks that only resorted back to their previous place.

He could see himself, albeit not too clearly in the dirty mirror, the way he looked. Not that he was a vain person, but…he looked good. The costume's name may have been silly and he, being an easily embarrassed person, had refused to wear it for the sake of people not laughing at him. The black robes clung closely to him, accentuating the lithe muscular body and then becoming looser at the pants. Hakama it had said on the label, allowed more freedom to his legs in contrast to the restricting skinny jeans. The upper area of his costume was also black and long sleeved, tight at the arms. Just like Renji, however, he killed the image of the character they were dressed as by wearing sneakers.

"If you don't come out, I'll call Grimmjow to knock down the door telling him I forgot something then locking you both in there."

The door creaked open and Ichigo stepped out revealing his attire to her.

She clasped her hands together in admiration, eyeing him from top to bottom. "If I hadn't realized your orientation, I would definitely make out with you right now."

"Whatever. Happy?"

"Yes."

"Good, because you're carrying my clothes for the rest of the party."

**IX**

Some time into the night and people in exponential increases showed up. More and more girls trying to pull off the same costume Rangiku wore but all failed miserably. Or somewhat miserably.

They had met up with Renji and Rukia along with Tatsuki and Orihime who had showed up. Tatsuki in her karate uniform and Orihime in overalls claiming she was a farmer.

Odd.

The more people showed up, the livelier the atmosphere and louder the music became when Rangiku kept requesting to the hired DJs.

Ichigo sat at a set up table wedged between Rukia and Orihime, uncomfortable that he had to sit there without purpose. He kept fidgeting around on the lookout for a certain blue haired male. Nobody seemed to notice, caught up in their small conversations.

The people before him, the dwellers of the party were all dancing before him in a single mass, moving rhythmically together to the dark music of Rob Zombie. It really brought forth the Halloween atmosphere.

Rangiku came forth from the tangle of bodies, giggly and with some sheen formed on her forehead. Naturally, she pouted in having to be the only one dancing from the groups of friends. "Renji, Rukia! Come dance!" She waved them over and the red headed cop and oversized bunny exchanged looks.

Matsumoto skipped towards them on her high heels, extending her arm to Rukia who simply looked at her hand. "Rukia!"

"Ano…" she began but cut off promptly before she could refuse. The blonde had taken her thin wrist and pulled her to her feet. "Ah!" she cried when led to the dance floor.

It was almost comical, watching the people in revealing costumes and an oversized bunny smack in the middle.

"Rukia-chan…" Orihime sympathized, seeing the other girl stumble around being pulled by the tipsy (Ichigo assumed her to be) tipsy blonde.

"This place is whack. I want to go home." Tatsuki complained leaning back in her chair and propping her leg on her knee.

"It's probably because it's still pretty early." Renji commented, "It usually doesn't get lively until after midnight."

"Augh, and I have a competition tomorrow. I have to be up early."

"Just go right after the party ends. You are wearing your uniform."

"Idiot. I can't go without sleep."

"I'm sure Tatsuki-chan can defeat anybody even without sleep." Inoue chirped.

"That's true," Renji agreed. He looked at Ichigo's direction. "Why have you been so quiet?"

"Yeah, you have been pretty quiet." Said Tatsuki.

Ichigo noticed they were talking about him. He faced the three pairs of eyes. "What?"

"See, he's distracted." Tatsuki waved a hand in his face. She smiled, "What's got you so down? Didn't want to be here, huh?"

The rifts of a guitar started to play and the crowd became an uproar.

"No, but…" He began, when the two girls, Rangiku and Rukia, came running over. Mostly it was just Rangiku with Rukia being pulled along. "Renji, Ichigo! C'mon!" She gestured to all four of them so they would tag along.

Tatsuki naturally declined but with Orihime's passive nature, she was pressure into joining the other dancers. Now the trio looked stranger: A cat, bunny, and a farmer.

It was a sight to see, indeed.

**X**

It was nearing midnight and the festivity only got louder, bigger and bolder. Ichigo could not fathom how anybody could have enough stamina to dance non-stop. He, himself, had been stuck on the chair for the entire time drinking some 'blood punch' as Matsumoto had called it.

He, Renji, and Tatsuki were bored out of their minds, the red haired male occasionally taking hidden glances at the dance floor seeming like he wanted to dance.

Ichigo, however, was on the lookout for other things. He hadn't seen s certain somebody since he had arrived and didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Initially, he, Grimmjow, had been the reason to avoid the party in the first place, after Rangiku told him over the phone he would show up, but now, not seeing him here left Ichigo with some sort of discouragement.

An agitated sigh, "Well, I'm outta here." The raven haired girl sitting next to him announced jumping to her feet and stretching. "I'm gonna go tell Orihime if she's going to stay or needs a ride." She walked with her back straight to where she had last seen the trio.

"Are you staying any longer, Ichigo? I don't want to be the only guy left here." Renji asked.

He thought about it. No, he didn't want to be there but knowing Rangiku… "Yeah, I'm staying."

"All night?"

"Yeah."

"Cool."

They sipped drinks together.

**XI**

He had seen the orange headed little fucker come in so where was he now?

Grimmjow was outside, the moon having sunk somewhere behind the trees. It was fucking creepy there. The trees looked like they had been set on black fire and the way the wind moved made them dance like some kind of ritual. He placed his finger on the cool metal of the mouth of a can and pulled the tab, popping open the can. He drank in large gulps and the carbon bubbles made a stinging trail in his throat.

Shirosaki had snuck away somewhere, arm around some dizzy ditz.

The parking lot was still pretty full, outsiders everywhere beginning to take part in their own form of fornication. Grimmjow kept on the lookout, ignoring the incoming texts from the phone in his pocket. That thing was like a ruler for any who wished to be ruled.

He took the last bit of soda, crushed the can, and threw it somewhere behind him. Kurosaki was probably inside with his friends.

It was starting to feel chilly at the moment despite it having been favorable conditions during the day. Now, without the sun warming the ground at least a little, Grimmjow had to endure the incoming cold with goose bumps on his arms. He, like Ichigo, hadn't worn a costume either; just a plain black tee and jeans and had been hoping to see Kurosaki in something other than his stiff uniform.

Someone grabbed him by the shoulder and with the instincts that had been burned into his system, Grimmjow was just about to whirl around and slam his fist in the person's face until he saw the ghostly pale image of Shirosaki.

The guy had the usual demeanor on his face: He grinned at Grimmjow.

Claiming he was going just for the girls, the pale male had dressed in a long white coat with black furry cuffs and white pants. He was a pimp, or so he said. The wind blew and Shirosaki's white long hair flowed to the side forcing him to make the feminine action of brushing the strand behind his ear. With his other hand, he placed it in his pocket, seeming to search for something, biting his tongue when he did so. Between his black painted fingernails was a half-smoked joint. "Lighter?" He cocked an eyebrow at Grimmjow.

"Only if you share."

Half an hour later and the joint had been reduced to a roach. They both looked at it pitifully and at the same time reverently.

"Don't you have another one?" Grimmjow asked, looking for something but not finding it.

"That was my las' one."

"…Shit."

With the smoke quickly being blown away by the wind, they both leaned heavily on the hood of Shirosaki's car brewing over the thoughts in their head.

"The fuck r'we going to do now?"

"Go inside?" Shiro suggested.

"Hell no."

The white one cackled, longer than usual until he regained placid composure.

The stood there, not feeling their legs.

Soon, however, the wafting smell attracted others.

They were nodding their heads in agreement to the music of Rage Against the Machine's "Roll Right" until a shadow loomed over them.

Grimmjow cracked his eye open to see a dark thin shadow with its thin wiry arms next to it. From its face, it cracked a long toothy smile. Behind him, two more were attached to his shadow.

"Nnoitora?" His gruff voice asked.

His grin became wider. "Who else would it be?"

Grimmjow shoved at Shirosaki's elbow, waking him too. He immediately scowled. "The fuck d'ya want?"

The slits of Nnoitora's eyes narrowed in amusement. "Sharing is caring, Shirosaki."

"Tch. You never share. And if I can remember clearly, which I can, you're a fuckin' hog. So fuck off."

In that instant, the other's smile faltered; the corners upside down.

Some blonde with an eye patch moved forward but Nnoitora's skinny arm held him back. "You're going to let them talk to you like that?"

"Shut up, Tesla." He walked over to Shirosaki and the pale teen instantly bristled, ready to fight. Even with the immense height difference, Shirosaki wasn't one to back down. Nnoitora curled his lip and spat between his piano teeth, "Watch your back next time, Albino. I'll fuckin' remember next time we see each other."

Shiro smirked, "Not with the amount of weed you hog."

A fist was swung and a smack landed on the hood of the car, the alarm blaring now. There was a tiny dent in the metal and Nnoitora was seen caressing his swollen looking hand. Eyes wild, he searched the lot for Shirosaki.

Grimmjow, barely realizing what happened, too searched for him.

He saw Nnoitora bend over abruptly, only to see his friend behind him with a hard glare directed to Nnoitora who tried to recover from a fist to the temple. One of the guys behind Nnoitora, Kokuto, saw this opportunity to help the taller of them, going for a dive towards the albino. Shirosaki saw this, slamming a left fist on the guy's jaw and Grimmjow, from his perspective, saw it connect and turn Kokuto's head, snapping it sideways until he lost his balance. Tesla, a wimpy looking follower that probably had a thing or Nnoitora, tried to be brave and started a sprint towards Shiro, but for pity's sake, or maybe to not be left out of the action, Grimmjow grabbed the smaller blonde's shirt collar and tugged him backwards.

"Let-!" Before he could utter another word, Grimmjow put him to sleep by slamming his head on the side mirror of the car, knocking it off.

The alarm was still blaring loudly and the music too, from everywhere. It seemed the commotion had attracted attention and a circle compiled of those that were already close by surrounded the four. Some pulled out their cell phones to catch the action on film.

Now that Nnoitora composed himself and his vision stopped spinning, both he and Kokuto began heading towards Shirosaki.

Two on one? Not on Grimmjow's fucking watch. He knew Shiro wanted to take care of Nnoitora himself, so Grimmjow grabbed the white haired dude from behind in a choke hold. Nnoitora didn't care as he inched towards Shirosaki.

Kokuto grabbed at Grimmjow's arm, trying of pry it off to allow him passage of air. Even for a fucking pot head, Grimmjow wasn't weak. He made sure to keep an imbalance between smoking and workouts, favoring the latter. He could feel Kokuto slumping a little and the clawing on his arm becoming weaker along with hearing the wheezy gasps and occasional coughs of having his trachea blocked.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Shirosaki holding his own against the wiry Nnoitora who was having trouble catching up with Shiro's swift movements. That's the price Nnoitora had to pay for being a tall motherfucker.

In just a few more seconds, Kokuto slumped completely against him, his legs giving beneath him, and Grimmjow dropped the dead weight leaving the guy's unconscious body in lying on the asphalt.

He turned his attention back to his friend who had a tougher opponent than he but he didn't see him in any _deep_ trouble. Not that he would ever gang up on anyone unless it was to save his life, but he had to watch close. Nnoitora was known to be a fucking cheat, pulling out brass or sometimes knives. He was notorious for handling those butterfly ones; having already been in a couple of solely knife fights himself. That's how he'd gotten that scar over his eye. He wasn't permanently blinded, though, just a rather nasty scar.

Shiro looked like he was having fun.

Fucking sadist.

The guy had his cynical grin from ear to ear, and maybe he wasn't aware of it under the rush of the fight, but he was cackling like a madman, and his laughter echoed against the tin walls of the warehouse, reaching the ears of the trees.

Already, he could see the outcome of the fight. Looking at the bloody faced Nnoitora, red at the corner of his lip and upper brow, purple already welling on his cheek and bad eye, Grimmjow had already called a winner.

The onlookers were still there, excited with every punch and kick, with every lunge and sick hit.

The hidden bloodlust of humans surfacing.

With one last right hook that connected with the taller one's jaw, Nnoitora's face flew to one side and the momentum took him face first to the gravelly asphalt. He landed with a heavy 'oomph'. His pride willed him to stand up, but his body told otherwise. On shaky arms, he tried to lift himself from the ground only to have gravity reclaim him.

Shirosaki, grin no longer there but replaced with a dark glare, stood over Nnoitora. There was clapping and cheering seeing the fight end until it quieted when noticing the standoff.

Through a swollen eye, the teen on the ground stared up at him too; both defying each other's staring.

"AHHHHH!"

Heads turned, commotion began once again.

Grimmjow too turned, trying to pinpoint whatever that noise had been.

Multiple footsteps.

Fast ones too.

They were coming from the warehouse.

A crowd was pushing its way through the small doors.

While all this happened, everybody was too distracted to notice the thing crawling, surrounding their feet.

Fog.

It densed around the people's shoes, until they weren't visible. Kokuto's body was slowly overtaken by the fog, along with Tesla's leaving only the sides of their heads and arms above the fog.

Alarmed and not knowing what was going on, the students who had stayed in the parking lot gave each other confused looks.

Shirosaki came to Grimmjow's side. "The fuck happened?" His breath was heavy from the fight and there was sheen on his forehead making his long white strands of hair stick to closely to his neck and head.

"Don't know."

No one was saying anything; screaming anything.

It wasn't until Grimmjow saw that one guy briskly walk out, Abarai, one of Ichigo's friends. He walked over to him and stopped him by the shoulder. Abarai frowned at him. "Jaegerjaquez?"

"Why's everyone…"

"Don't know. The lights went out, music started acting up and the DJ stepped out to see if something was wrong with the connection outside."

"The fuck was that sound?"

"What sound?"

"It sounded like a scream…"

Renji gave him a puzzled look. "I didn't hear anything," he said, making Grimmjow equally confused.

Shiro joined the circle just at the same time Rukia and Rangiku came around Renji. "Then why's everybody coming out? Thought it was because someone screamed inside."

Rangiku answered this one. She pouted and stomped her foot, "It's because the lights didn't come back on and the DJ hasn't come back. We couldn't just sit in the dark."

Grimmjow awkwardly added in, "Wasn't Kurosaki with you earlier, or did he leave?" He scratched the bridge of his nose.

Rangiku also answered, "Yeah, he's still here. He just went to go get his clothes from where I left them." Then she smiled. "You know, Grimmjow, could you help me with something?"

"Ah, look. There's fog forming." Rukia noticed, "This is going to be a difficult drive."

"No problem for me." Renji proudly announced.

"What! You guys are leaving?" Rangiku asked, somewhat disappointed.

"Yeah, the music and lights are gone." Rukia said sheepishly.

"But he said he'd be back!" Rangiku tried to rationalize but for once, the woman saw their point. She turned to Grimmjow. "Grimmjow, could you go get my cell phone for me?"

The blue-haired teen stared at her like she had given an obscene request. "What?" Honestly, he only knew the woman through the brief time he's spent on the roof and reputation, along with sitting behind her in Biology.

"Ahaha, you see I left it by where the DJ was…" She smiled and fidgeted with a strand of hair.

At last, it looked like the last of the crowd found its way outside and gathered in the parking lot, talking and laughing, seemingly waiting to see if the party would continue. Grimmjow kinda wanted to say 'No' to her but…

He scratched the bridge of his nose, "Uh, sure."

"Thank you, Grimmy-kun," she winked, almost eager to push him through the doors and inside the darkness.

Shiro began walking behind him until Rangiku almost screamed 'No!' to him and grabbed him by the shoulders to keep him from entering. Grimmjow turned around to see what the hell it was that caused her to scream.

She played it off with the best excuse she could pull off, "Ano, why should you go in there when you can stay out here?" She shot Shiro a quirky smile that dumbfounded the boy with the new wave of affection. Always before, she would treat Shirosaki with disdain and he, in return, believed her to, well, be a bitch.

"The fuck should I do that for?" he scowled down at her and tried his best to not stray his eyes down.

"Well… we could have some…" She faced Grimmjow and Shiro now took the opportunity to peek down at the exposed cleavage.

Grimmjow chuckled under his breath at his friend's blatant behavior. Those other two, the midget girl and Abarai were in their own corner waiting for the crowds, if they ever were, to disperse.

Rangiku shooed Grimmjow away with a wave of her hand, "It's riiight next to the speaker. Go on."

Grimmjow and Shiro changed equal looks and both shrugged their shoulders. Grimmjow walked into the darkness by himself, pulling out his house keys which had a tiny LED light hooked to them.

Outside, Shiro figured the blonde woman out. "You sent him inside because of Kurosaki, huh?" He grinned.

She put her finger to her mouth, "I don't know what you're talking about."

The albino male smirked at her.

**XII**

Where in the world had Rangiku placed his clothes?

This was exactly the reason why Ichigo couldn't have nice things: He always lost them.

Or his friends lost them for him.

Already he had searched in the small restroom where he had first changed but his cell phone could only illuminate so much without making the room look eerie. He hadn't stayed in there too long.

What other place might Rangiku have placed them in? He sucked his teeth.

Briskly walking to where they had been sitting at, Ichigo tilted his phone left and right searching in the darkness. Every time he took a step, the loose fabric of his pants hit against his leg. "Augh," he searched in the seats too, but not finding them anywhere.

The teen blew out an exasperated breath feeling the heat of the room. Without power, the air-conditioning had promptly stopped working and left the room with a hot sticky feeling about. Without the noisy apparatus running and the music having stopped, he could hear the chatter outside. They were probably still waiting for the damned DJ to come back. How long did it take to fix a bad wire anyway?

Dialing a phone number into the dialer, Ichigo placed it to his ear and listened to the other line ring. He'd call Rangiku to tell her he hadn't found anything and that she owed him new clothes. This was most likely a lose-lose situation for him because the woman would only be too excited to take him shopping.

From somewhere, he heard a slight hum followed by the beginning of a female singer's song.

Wait…

He saw a bright light flash to his right coming his way. That better be Rangiku, he mentally told himself.

The light came closer and he raised his arm to shield his vision.

"Kurosaki?" A gruff voice spoke.

He blinked and the light lowered itself.

It was Grimmjow.

"Grimmjow?" The ringtone was still going. "What—uh, what are you doing here?"

"Getting that blond friend of yours her phone." He walked in the direction of the noise. By the speaker was a small white rectangle which he picked up and waved at it Ichigo.

Ichigo turned his head in the surrounding directions. It was so dark all of a sudden.

In his hand, the phone remained until he flashed the screen at Grimmjow who pointed the LED back.

"Grimmjow…"

"What?" The little smirk he had made him swallow his words.

A pause that made him gulp air down his dry throat. Ichigo cleared his throat swiftly moving his eyes back and forth. "W-we should probably head outside now." He moved his heavy legs traveling in the direction of the small door in the opposite distance. An outstretched arm held stopped him. He focused his wide eyes at his stopper.

Grimmjow was taller than him, maybe a few inches, making him crane his neck awkwardly to look up at his face. "What are you doing?"

There was a lazy grin coming from the other sending his heart into a frenzy inside his chest. Grimmjow pushed him back lightly and in the daze Ichigo was in, he easily stumbled back. He lowered the light and Ichigo didn't bother to lift his phone anymore, feet glued to the floor. He could feel the sweat accumulate on his palm and suddenly the heat of the room was too much to bear.

"Kurosaki." A voice was whispering in his ear. On instinct, he tried to push back him personal space invader but his arm lost its will to move when it touched the warm skin. How had he gotten so close without him noticing? Warm breath tickled his neck making the other stutter out, "What are you doing, Grimmjow?"

**XIII**

"Well, we're going to head out now. Looks like it'll take too long for the DJ to fix things." Renji patted down his red hair.

"What! C'mon. Stay just a while longer!" Rangiku came up to both Renji and Rukia who both had embarrassed looks on their face. Neither wanted to say no to her.

"My brother will probably scold me for staying to long." Rukia admitted, even though at the same time it was an excuse to leave. She had pulled the hood of her costume back and rolled the sleeves up.

The blonde woman huffed, crossing her arms. "Fine. But you have to make it up to me for leaving so early!"

Renji and Rukia exchanged wary looks. It was a sacrifice that had to be done. "Yeah, sure."

"Great! See you next week at school!" She waved them off _too_ easily, they noticed, and trotted back to the door where she was.

"Think she'll be gentle when we go back?" Asked Renji, taking out his car keys from his pocket, pointing them to the ratty car across the street. The car responded with a beeping sound and yellow lights flashing.

"Not with the kind of woman Rangiku is."

"Then I guess I'll be absent all next week." Joked Renji.

They both hopped into the car, Renji sliding the keys into the engine and turning, bringing the car coughing to life. Rukia buckled up, ordering Renji to do the same, the red headed male complying without arguments.

"Your brother will really be angry?" He pulled the stick into reverse, easily backing out into the empty unused street.

"Yeah, but I guess not so much since it's still before three." She was thrown forward a bit with the car stopping and settling into drive. The taillights left yellow trails on the road as they drove away, soon concealed by the fog.

It was quiet, the drive, and so Rukia's small hand reached out to play with the dials, switching back and forth between stations which were on commercials. Renji kept his eyes on the road, focused intensely. "Damn, the fog's getting thicker." He switched on the fog lights of which only one worked.

Rukia, in turn getting worried suggested, "Why not the high beams?"

Renji did that too. "Don't worry. It's not too much of a long drive onto a main road and this one is rarely used anymore."

"Still…"

The wheels could be heard rolling on the asphalt and Rukia looked out the window. It was pure darkness outside. The radio was still speaking nonsense as the commercials ordered the listeners to call a one-eight-hundred number for silly products such as herbal medicine imported from Thailand.

Maybe she should call her brother to tell him she was on her way. She took out her small phone from somewhere inside her bunny suit. A finger tapped on the screen then she put it to her ear. Renji stayed quiet. He was too focused, and the reason he should stay that way was sitting next to him. His palms were glued onto the steering wheel.

"There's no signal here." Rukia's voice cut the silence.

"Hm," Renji grunted.

That's when the radio began acting up. Waves of static noise poured out of the speakers, making both frown.

"Yeah, sometimes this piece of crap does that."

"Do I change the station?" Without waiting for response, she turned the knob receiving equal amounts of static.

"Just…uh, just hit it a bit."

Dull weak thumps were all she could muster.

He didn't want to take his eyes off the road, like any good driver, but the noise was bothersome and quiet was even more. "Here, let me…" He raised a fist, hitting it several times until…

"RENJI!"

Immediately, he switched his focus to the road once more, russet eyes widening at the sight of someone in the middle of the road.

"Shit!" Both feet went down like bricks onto the brake pedal, sending the car into a screeching halt. He turned the wheel at the same time hoping to miss the walking traveler.

He coughed, "Damn it. Are you okay?" He let out a heavy breath, trying to shake off the horrible feeling.

Rukia had her eyes closed shut, holding on for dear life on the frame of the car while Renji looked on to make sure he hadn't hit the person in the center of the street. His heart was thumping heavily, and his breathing was heavy too. He peeked over the steering wheel, dreading to see what was there now. A motionless body…?

"R-Renji…what is that?!" Rukia yelled in panic, eyes going wide as saucers. Her voice quivered. It was so unlike her.

The russet eyes of her companion were fixed on the motionless, standing figure of at least eight feet tall. He couldn't hear anything anymore, except for the distant sounds of Rukia ordering him to drive off. To leave it behind. To get away.

He heard the saliva travel down his throat and felt his palms slide from the steering wheel. The dull beats of his heart. Time seemed to stop.

"RENJI!"

It was Rukia's voice. He slowly turned to face her. She was screaming something, frantically turning back and forth between him and the road.

He followed her gaze out the windshield. In the middle of the abandoned, foggy, road, surrounded by tall thin black trees was some sort of man. Was he a man? There was no face, no expression, and no indication that it even comprehended anything intelligent. Motionless, staring back with an eye-less face. A black suit fitted to be worn at funerals with long slender arms.

He was being shaken by Rukia, but he couldn't tear his eyes from the creature. It started to move, raising its long arms above. Rukia's attempts to reach him ceased as she stared with a pallid face at the thing that stretched it arms from the cover of the suit arms. They were much longer than before, extending out like tentacles that got lost in the leaves of the trees above. Her small mouth dropped open, shaking. She turned back to Renji who couldn't even see her anymore.

The tentacle like arms came at both of them, breaking the windshield. They paused before reaching either of them and the face-less man came forward with inhuman steps. Rukia couldn't scream. Renji couldn't think.

Skin from the jaw line began breaking apart, like something was slicing it from the inside. The tentacles wiggled and slithered behind both their seats in silence. Finally the face leaned in through the broken glass, inches away from Rukia's. The skin was now sliced completely, a thin jagged line on the bottom half of the non-face. It split, in a horrifying grin, revealing bloody teeth and a foul breath. A slender cold arm came around the seating.

And Rukia erupted in a broken scream that soon died out.


	3. Chapter 3

**XIV**

_Huff, huff, huff._

Twigs broke and leaves crunched underneath both their feet. The grounds they were running on were dark and endless. More time than they had was needed in order for their eyes to adjust to the amount of dark shrouding the space in front of them. Even so, both of them kept their pace, brushing away any weak branches and taking long, high strides in their steps.

A voice spoke. "What has you so weak?" It was a gruff voice, stern and empowering.

There was a pause. In the silence, sounds of snapping branches and thumps hitting soft ground. They were in a forest. There was no moon that night; early it had been clouded over by brume and sheets in the sky and the black branches above were no help in letting the light illuminate their path.

Two bodies, side by side running as fast as a human body could. Black cloaks fluttered behind them silently and when caught and snared in the branches, they simply slid off, leaving tiny amount of cloth behind. Hence the reason why they were tattered and torn at the bottom.

A low leveled branch hit the smaller male's face, leaving a thin welted pink line on his fair skin. He paid it no mind merely grunting when the small inconvenience left the side of his cheek stinging. He clenched his teeth and the taller man next to him was patient when waiting for the answer to his question.

Finally, he spoke after minutes passed and he could place his feeling into words. They weren't exactly feelings, more than fears. Natural fears that humans have when faced with this kind of situation. A situation in which others' lives were in your hands. It was a burden and a blessing all the same. But sometimes the knowledge in knowing this was a torture. "I'm afraid we won't get there on time."

The taller man understood. He had been through it many years ago when he was young and reckless. Even after many years of this particular avocation, hard decisions that involved human life over duty were difficult to make. However, his younger partner still required guiding in making these types of judgments. He spoke only what words were sure to bring peace to the other's young mind. "We'll get there in time."

He did not receive an answer or argument and they both kept running.

**XV**

"Haa.." He was close, _too_ close for his liking and Ichigo wanted to push him off but something impeded him. It was his own body that was stopping him from grabbing Grimmjow's face and pulling it away from the crook of his neck. He was liking the attention. Instead, his fingers could only clench around a tuft of blue hair that was only egging the other on in his feverous kisses.

"Wait…" His eyes closed he felt sharp teeth pull at the sensitive skin of his neck. An electric jolt shot through his system with the touch, managing to kick him back to his senses. His brown eyes went wide and his arms found strength to push Grimmjow off.

He was breathing heavy and the entire room was hot or maybe it was just him. Either way, Ichigo needed to breathe fresh air and get out before Grimmjow was on him again and this time he wouldn't be able to find sanity to deny him.

In the darkness, Ichigo couldn't really find his eyes to focus through the darkness and he didn't dare raise his phone to see what sort of expression Grimmjow had with his rejection. He didn't speak, but Ichigo could only imagine what sharp words he was holding himself back from saying.

At last he said, "Why'd ya stop me?"

Ichigo at first said nothing, trying to regain his breath and calm down his heart rate. He ran a hand over the sweat damped locks that he begun sticking to his forehead during the time spent inside. He could feel the rise and fall of his shoulders, taking a deep inhale and replying to Grimmjow's question. "We…have—they're waiting for us outside." Heat rushed to his face making him thankful that they were in a dark room where his expression and frustrations couldn't be seen.

"Tch." He was right. The others were probably outside thinking why they were taking so long. Grimmjow puffed out some air and didn't complain…outloud. "Alright, let's go before that blonde chick comes in here."

**XVI**

"…Fuckin' bastards." Nnoitora spit blood to the side, clutching his sides. He grunted from pain when touching his jaw and trying to move it around. He couched making the sides of his head feel like they were going to explode. Tesla was out cold somewhere nearby and Kokuto was getting up just as he was.

An agitated growl escaped Nnoitora and he punched the ground. "Kokuto, let's go."

"Huh? Right." He answered.

Nnoitora stood, grunting every now and then. He stared at the crowds with his semi-good eye, scanning the people and their faces. He'd kill those two if anyone ever found out of this humiliating defeat. No one was supposed to defeat him.

He caught sight of white, the fucking albino who did this to him, standing next to Rangiku. "Che, I'll get you next time, Shirosaki. You can count on that."

"Nnoitora." Kokuto called.

"Yeah, I know dumbass."

"I was gonna ask if we were going to leave Tesla there."

Nnoiotora eyed him. Not even a second he had lasted or of any help. Always following him around like a lost puppy. "Yeah, leave 'im there. He'll know where we are."

Kokuto placed his hands in his pockets saying nothing.

"And like hell I was gonna carry him." Nnoitora said to himself.

They headed further into the dark parking lot.

**XVII**

Rangiku smirked looking back at the doors which led into the building. "Oh? I wonder what's taking those two so long!" She sent a knowing look to Shiro who was standing next to her.

He smirked back. "Ya really gotta ask?"

"Pervert. I didn't mean that kind of thing." She crossed her arms and directed her attention elsewhere.

Shirosaki bit back any sort of further argument. Since Grimmjow had gone in there she'd be doing the same thing. Ask a question to which Shiro said 'Hey. No harm in answerin'.' Only to walk into a trap very carefully laid out. He'd be damned if he'd answer another one of her questions.

A moment of quiet where only the crowd's conversations buzzed in the air, merging to one sound.

"Now you're ignoring me? I always knew you were a jerk!" Rangiku snapped.

"Huh?!" Shiro faced her. "Ya didn' say anythin—!"

Her sideways, triumphant smile stopped him short. He fell for it again.

"Tch. Goin' home. Tell Grimmjow I took the car." Shiro made to get up digging in his costume for the keys.

"Oh don't be like that! I was just having a bit of fun!"

He ignored her.

"Come on. Look! Here they are!"

And just on cue, both teens walked out of the building, Grimmjow first, tossing Rangiku her phone, and Ichigo behind. The busty woman caught it easily and flipping it open. "Aw, no new messages from Rukia or Renji."

"Well they're drivin'." Shirosaki snorted.

"Who knew you'd be a safe driver, Shi-ro-sa-ki." She said, putting the phone to her ear.

He didn't know if he liked the way she said her name. Instead of fretting over it too much, he looked at Grimmjow. He looked a little annoyed and Ichigo not very social at the moment himself.

"So we goin' or what? Everybody else is leavin' and it don' look like the DJ's comin' back any time soon either."

"Hmm," Rangiku pressed the 'end call' on her phone. "Looks like Renji is as much a safe driver as you."

"I'll be right back…" Rangiku uncrossed her legs and walked away to a more secluded area.

"Where she going?" Grimmjow asked Shiro.

"Hell if I know. She's fucking crazy."

"She's probably going to call Rukia. She does that when she doesn't want anyone to hear the conversation." Ichigo put in.

"Great. Let's go Grimmjow."

The blue haired male stayed in his spot before turning around. Ichigo was avoiding full contact with his eyes. "Kurosaki."

Ichigo cleared the anxiety from his throat. "Yeah?"

"I'll see you at school?"

"Don't you always?"

Grimmjow clenched his teeth. "You know what I meant."

A pause. "You suck at asking a guy out."

**XVIII**

"Rukia. Answer the phone!" The blonde teenage girl was almost bouncing on her heels. At least no one could hear her here. She was anticipating the raven haired girl to answer her phone and gossip about her plan of getting Grimmjow and Ichigo together. Rukia had been the first in suspecting it and when Rangiku saw what had happened the other day on the school's roof she had almost exploded with victory. But Ichigo's plea to keep it hushed stopped her from going and telling her friend about it.

But now that Grimmjow and Ichigo were aware of each other's feelings then it was safe to say they would show to school an item, right? And even safer to say that she could finally tell it to Rukia, to Chizuru, Tatsuki and Orihime?

She giggled in the darkness only to cut her celebration short when the call went to voicemail. "Please leave your message for… 'Rukia!'… after the tone…"

Rangiku snapped her phone. She huffed and was about to turn the corner when she heard people beginning to leave.

"I don't think this is gonna continue."

"Yeah, let's go. This sucks."

"There wasn't any food left, either."

"Who cares about food! I wanted to dance!"

"What happened to the DJ anyway?"

"Probably went to shoot up somewhere. He looked the type."

"You're one to talk. Did you see the tattoo on the side of his face?"

"The sixty-nine? Ha! Yeah!"

Rangiku covered her mouth.

No! This was supposed to be the greatest party of the year! They can't leave now.

Her brows furrowed and she flipped open her cell once again. She remembered how confident the black haired man was when he came up to her and gave her his personal number. _"The number on my card is for business but you can call me here instead." _He'd said_._

_Oh, I'll call you alright_! "I'm going to give that man a piece of my mind!" She crossed one of her arms and held her phone to her ear with the other.

The first ring.

The second ring and some other sound from somewhere derived her attention.

The third ring and she began to walk to it.

Something in the back of her mind told her to stop immediately but her legs continued to move.

She felt her hands tremble and the silence, the silence of being behind the decrepit building and. It was oppressing her, isolating only the sounds of the rings of the other line in conjunction to the buzzing close by.

She finally came to it. The source of the sound.

It was a cellphone.

The rings stopped and the phone on the ground stopped vibrating, screen going dark. She bent down.

Why was she trembling?

Earlier, she had been…

Her hand reached over and picked it up, examining it closely. Something about this was very wrong. It felt surreal.

She dialed the previous number again waiting for it to ring. There was no way this was his, right? What would it be doing here?

Her mouth felt dry.

Confusing.

Her palms sweated and she could feel her heartbeat in her hands.

_Bzzz!_

Immediately, Rangiku dropped the phone holding back a cry of surprise.

_Bzz! Bzzz!_

It continued on the ground.

What was going on?

Her blue eyes stuck on the sight of the phone.

Her hand was still quivering, extended and immobile since feeling the movement.

She closed it, trying to stop the shaking, but it merely intensified.

She gulped.

And a cold drop hit her closed fist.

Was it raining?

Examining the spot, Rangiku brought her hand closer.

Her eyes scrunched. What was that which landed on her hand?

The bleariness of her vision came and went. She opened her phone to use the light.

Red.

That's what had landed. It ran down her finger like a beautiful crimson river losing itself in the trails of her skin.

Red?

Rain wasn't red.

Her head tilted up scanning the sky. It was cloudy. Thin sheets and the moon looked down through them like a giant eyeball.

The moon saw everything and with its white light, it allowed Rangiku to see everything if only for a brief moment.

On the boughs of the pin trees, dark and old, they held a man, torn and tossed.

His limbs were twisted, looking like parts of the tree themselves. Blood ran down the dry cracks of the bark racing to a bottom they'd never reach.

The man was missing his arms.

And the tree which caught him staked him through his torso leaving his head to fall gently to the side.

She fell back on her knees holding her mouth, looking up in horror unable to scream or move.

The image now burned in her memory, the moon thought she had enough and hid itself behind the moving dark clouds.

* * *

_I'm not stopping_

_I'm going hunting_

_I am the hunter_


End file.
